Taxi for MySpace!

Checked out MySpace recently? I just did, and it made me rather nostalgic for summer 2006 when I used it a lot. As well as the social aspect - long since replaced by Twitter and Facebook - the motivation for using it was music. So in 2010, what's changed?

The site has just had a refresh - and not before time. Profiles have been simplified to make navigation easier and there's a more uniform menu throughout.

I hadn't logged in for ages, and got an alert to say that my visitors, and the pages I visit, are being tracked by the site - is that OK? (Facebook doesn't bother asking, note.) Then I get an alert saying there are changes to privacy settings, with one overall privacy options replacing different options for different contacts. Sounds like they learnt more than a little from Facebook on that number, too.

The new navigation and some of the boxishness of the site is Facebooky too, but then it would be a surprise if MySpace hadn't incorporated elements of Facebook. They wouldn't want to admit it, but Facebook has long since taken over the pathfinding in experimenting with formats, privacy settings, user behaviour and the rest, and that does influence design on other sites to a greater or lesser extent.

The main MySpace page is completely dominated by music, and by the summer festivals. Which is as it should be - and a shame it took them so long to turn that up to 11. If I ran MySpace I'd dump everything on that site apart from the bands, and make it a speciality music marketing site with live music streams, live gigs, ticketing, editorial, live chats with bands and the rest. But that's never going to happen, and whatever strategy the MySpace top dogs think they're employing just doesn't come across on the site. It's still a mess. I think the MySpace train has left the station, and without taking any passengers with it.

I found this on the profile of a friend, which about sums up MySpace on a number of levels - not least the demographic they appear to be failing to exploit:

"Young, enthusiastic, fun. Good at spending money. Good at drinking. I fucking hate MySpace. It is the most popular badly designed (and built) site ever. Just look at that navigation! Look at it, it's fucking terrible! I'm logged in - but where is the link to my profile!?!"

• NB MySpace wasted no time in getting in touch to point out the UK homepage is largely taken over by music, and that they have streamed gigs recently, notably the iTunes Festival - which offered pretty much everything I suggested. The Mystery Jets also did a secret show and other recent live events have included The Dead Weather and Hot Chip. So it is all about the music...

Sign up for the Guardian Today

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.